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Arsenal’s season might have ended in embarrassing fashion in Baku at the hands of Chelsea, but it could have been a lot worse without Alexandre Lacazette in the squad.

The former Lyon man has unquestionably been Arsenal’s most important player this campaign, forming a great relationship both on and off the pitch with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and showing the quality to link midfield and attack with intelligence.

Lacazette has established himself as a fan favourite in north London and one of the most reliable strikers in the Premier League, but that hasn’t stopped the rumour mill from churning out reports of Arsenal going in for a new striker this summer, and the latest name to pop up is Borussia Dortmund man Mario Gotze.

The once former golden boy of German football has seen his career stall in recent years, with a failed move to Bayern Munich seeing the now 26-year-old playmaker making a return back Dortmund, where he has since seen a change in role from a creative number 10 to more of a false 9, and Arsenal are sniffing about.

According to the Mirror, the Gunners are interested in the Black and Yellow superstar, who only has a year left on his current deal with Dortmund, and after one of Gotze’s best seasons to date in the Bundesliga, the German international could be a smart signing for Unai Emery’s side, but how does he compare to the former Lyon hitman?

As well as playing nearly the same number of games in their respective leagues, Lacazette and Gotze are also close when you look at the assist numbers, with the Arsenal man registering eight and the German playmaker creating seven, but from there, it is a completely different story.

From the stats, it is clear that despite Lacazette’s Player of the Season worthy campaign with the Gunners, Gotze does a far better job than the Arsenal striker when it comes to creative output.

Years of playing behind the striker and being the creative heartbeat for both one of the best Dortmund sides of all time - and also a strong Bayern Munich team - have culminated in Gotze being an ideal false 9 and a player who could add a fresh dynamic to Emery's options in attack.

With a real creative powerhouse like Gotze, Arsenal could have a player that can return the club to the promised land of Champions League football and someone who can unlock the true potential of Aubameyang as well as take the creative burden off Lacazette, who will see his goal tally improve greatly with the German playing alongside him.